I Will Survive
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: At seven, Tony's view of injustice in his life does not necessarily reflect the perspectives of the adults in his life. This is part of my Fate series.
1. Strength

Strength

Seven year old Tony climbed onto the bed in the guestroom where his grandfather, Jackson Gibbs, busily unpacked his two suitcases.

Sighing dramatically, the little boy regarded his dad's father with interest. "Are you bored, Grandpa?"

Grinning, Jackson stopped to appraise the child. "Now how in the world could I find myself bored when I just got to Mexico and have the company of my wonderful grandchild right before me?"

Throwing himself against the guest bed's plump pillows Tony observed astutely, "Well, maybe if you don't have anything to do you will get bored."

Jackson raised an eyebrow to regard Tony with speculation. With shimmery green eyes and brown hair bleached blond in places by the sun, the little boy turned heads wherever he went. Though small for his age, Tony typically drew attention not only because of his looks, but because of his personality, as well.

The older man had arrived for a two week visit with his only son, NCIS Team Leader Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Tony, and the family's housekeeper, Maria, whom Tony referred to as Grandmother, or Abuela. Though Jethro would probably have to return to D.C. at some point in the next days, Tony and Maria planned to stay in the family's Campeche, Mexico, home as long as possible.

They hoped to remain for the entire summer.

"Bored, huh? I promise you looked entertained enough when you picked me up at the airport today. In fact, you appeared downright celebratory."

"Right," Tony agreed, holding both legs above him to examine his flip flops.

Once home from the airport reunion he had stripped off his good clothes to change into a play outfit. "Well, the airport has planes, and besides, you came today from Pennsylvania."

Jack paused and regarded him intently before pulling several hangers from the closet. "About the planes, I was thinking that you and I could head back into Campeche tomorrow or the next day, just the two of us. We can find a toy store and buy one of those model airplanes to build together. Sound good?"

Tony frowned and rolled onto his stomach. "Probably I can't go there with you, Grandpa, to the toy store."

Surprised, Jackson swiveled to scrutinize his grandson before turning back to hanging clothes in the closet.

Carefully positioning a dress shirt onto a hanger he questioned, "Why do you think you will miss that trip, Big Boy?"

"Cause I got into trouble," Tony answered honestly, sliding around on the bed again to sit crosslegged and watch Jack. "and 'cause I will survive, Grandpa."

He uttered the last pronouncement so seriously that Jackson burst into laughter at the words. He hurried to the bed to swoop the child up in his arms and tickle him. "You will survive, huh? Where did that surviving come from, Tony?"

Breathing through his laughter, the little boy fell back down on the bed and accused with a giggle, "You got my ticklebox, Grandpa!"

"Good," Jackson responded, then tousling Tony's hair, he completed the last of his unpacking.

Motioning his grandson he pointed towards the kitchen, and the child climbed off the bed and padded after him down the hall.

"Let's see if your dad left some coffee for me," Jackson suggested, "though I am pretty sure that you will skip the coffee and find some juice more to your liking."

Sliding a chair to the refrigerator, Tony agreed about the juice as he scrambled up to open the door and lift out a plastic container. Turning to regard his grandfather he asked solicitiously, "Do you want something in here?"

Marveling at how much the child had matured since the last time he had seen him, Jackson assured him, "No, I have found a cup and everything I need. Let's go join your dad and abuela. Do you need me to pour that into the glass for you?"

Tony climbed down and shook his head, pleased to show off his new kitchen skills. "I can do this."

The other man watched affectionately, his mind wandering to memories of Tony's father proving his big boy status at that same age so many years before.

Finally, the two carried their beverages and joined Maria and Jethro outdoors.

Making himself comfortable in one of the overstuffed rattan chairs, Jackson sampled a swallow of coffee before telling his hosts again how much he appreciated the vacation.

Placing his juice onto the safety of a glass tabletop, Tony grabbed his soccer ball and began practicing moves away from the grownups. For such a small boy, he definitely had physical prowess and lost no opportunity in engaging in any physical activity.

The adults watched him appreciatively for a good while before Jackson grinned and reported, "Tony just told me back in the house that he would survive."

"Survive what?" Maria clarified, glancing up quickly to check the status of the little boy.

"Something about going to town, if I recall," Jackson reported.

Enlightened, Jethro threw his head back and laughed. "I think I know the context for that survival line, Dad. That young man got himself into quite a bit of trouble yesterday and then complained about the punishment, very vocally, and repeatedly. When we finally got tired of the whining, Maria told him to hush, that he would survive, and that she would give him a reason to fuss if he kept fussing. That put a halt to it."

Jackson and Maria smiled at the explanation, too.

Maria interjected, "My bambino tends to act with drama, most especially when he thinks no one pays attention to him or that we have wronged him in some way."

The soccer ball crashed into the bottom of Jethro's chair, and when his little athlete came to reclaim it, Jethro grabbed him and swung him into his lap. Kissing the top of Tony's head he instructed, "Tell Grandpa what you did yesterday that got you into so much trouble from Abuela and me."

Sighing dramatically, Tony leaned his head back to regard his father upside down, then slid away to drink a swallow of juice.

Observing his grandfather watching him, he weighed the possibility of having sympathy extended towards him from the older man, or having him join forces with Jethro and Maria.

Evidently, he decided that his grandfather could provide emotional support.

Wiping his mouth, he climbed onto his abuela's lap and made himself comfortable before he obeyed his dad and explained. "I went to the park past the village, Grandpa."

Evidently he expected that lone succinct line should provide the bottom line to securing Jackson's comprehension.

However, he appeared puzzled at the words.

"But did you have permission for that, permiso para ir?" Maria prodded the child.

Scowling, Tony ducked his head and scratched his leg rather than answer.

Reaching up, he began to rub Maria's hair as he rearranged himself on her lap.

The adults exchanged appraising looks. Tony tended to rub Maria's hair for emotional security, or in this case, for comfort, a habit he had developed as a toddler.

"I know the answer," Jethro volunteered, sliding forward in his own chair to rest his forearms on his legs. "Tony had permission to go to his friend Miguel's house and nowhere else. So when we could not find him at Miguel's, we got scared and worried about him."

"Oh, I can imagine," Jack added his support in the manner that adults practice with each other. He nodded emphatically. "That would have upset me, too, if I had been here and could not find my brilliant grandson."

"Well we were muy afraid," Maria continued, "but glad to finally find him safe."

"But," Jethro concluded, his voice stern, "Tony got himself spanked for going to the park without asking us. Right?" He squinted at his child expectantly, his blue eyes intent upon his little boy's green ones.

In response, Tony scowled again, annoyed at the reminder of the painful encounter between his father's hand and his naked rear end.

Jethro shook his head and continued, "Plus, he does not get to leave this house to play anywhere or with his friends for a couple of days."

"Except he could go to the airport because that was a family activity," Maria offered, reiterating one of the nuances of grounding as a punishment to Tony.

"Hmmm…." Jack murmured, regarding the child.

He decided to lighten the tone. "Despite the spanking and punishment, though, my favorite boy appears to have survived, just as he assured me."

Tony's head jerked up to see if his grandfather teased him, and satisfied that he did not, he spoke, his tone tinging upon sulking, "But I don't like spankings, Grandpa, and Daddy and Abuela know that already."

"No one does, Bambino," Maria shifted him so that she could look at his face. She kissed the tip of his nose and rubbed his back. "So now you understand that we expect to know where you are every single minute of the day- siempre."

"I understand that now, Abuela," the little boy conceded irritably.


	2. Determination

Determination

Sensing the need to shift the focus from Tony, his grandfather winked.

"You want to know what this reminds me of, Anthony?" Jack regarded the child over the rim of his coffee cup.

"What, Grandpa?"

"A time your daddy got his bottom spanked for doing the very same thing that you did."

Tony's face lit up at the words and he jerked his head to gaze from his grandfather to his father.

Gibbs shook his head humorously at Tony's immediate interest. Leaning back in his own chair, he set down his coffee cup and verified the statement. "Actually, Dad, I know of twice that happened to me, personally, but share that story of you in town with Tony, instead. I know he will like that one."

"What kind of story is that?" Tony asked suspiciously, not willing to turn loose from hearing an account of his own father suffering dreaded corporal punishment.

Remembrance dawned upon Jackson, and he tapped his forehead dramatically. "Goodness, Leroy, I had not thought of that in years. At least you recall the incident."

"If I remember, that one was quite a narrative," Jethro encouraged his parent.

Maria patted Tony encouragingly, "Tell your abuelo that you want to hear the story he knows. Then he will share it with you."

The child grinned in anticipation, showcasing the loss of some baby teeth. He practically bounced as he assured Jack, "I want to hear about you when you were little, Grandpa! Tell me the story Daddy said to tell to me, please."

Jack smiled at the little boy's eagerness. "All right, I do believe I will."

Tony jerked his head to enlist Maria's participation, "Pay attention, Abuela, because I think this will be a good story."

The adults could not contain their laughter at that, and noting their response, Tony giggled at his ability to provoke humor from the three.

"So," Jackson began, his voice deep and his tone sounding serious and promising. "what I am about to share happened when I was about ten years old and lived with my parents way outside of town on our family's farm. Mama and Daddy had agreed to let me spend the afternoon with my best buddy, Jake, who lived about a mile down from where we lived, but with the understanding that I would come home by suppertime."

The older man paused and took in Tony's rapt expression.

"What I had not confided, though, was that Jake had gotten permission to spend the afternoon at my house."

Tony interrupted, ready to correct any inconsistency. "Wait, Grandpa, remember that you said you went to Jake's house."

"No," Jackson corrected. "I said that I obtained permission to go to Jake's, and that he obtained permission to come to my place."

Understanding of the deception dawned on the child. "Where did you go then?"

"We actually met up midway between our two places, then took off for a trip to town."

"How far was the town?" Maria interjected.

Familiar with the story, Jethro answered for his father, "Five miles, but they used a shortcut through some woods."

Jackson nodded and continued, "These woods were not on the list of acceptable places I could go, either. Lots of the trees had died in a pine beetle invasion years before, so the risk existed that limbs could fall at any time. I had been told to stay out of them, and so had Jake."

"I like to go in the woods," Tony contributed, then leaned over to pat his dad's leg. "We take walks in the forest, right Daddy?"

Jethro assured him that when they did take a trek, he paid special attention to trees which threatened to fall and kept them out of their range.

Jack picked up the story again, "So Jake and I made the most of our wonderful opportunity. Luckily, we scrambled through the forest without any problem, then ended up in town where we had agreed to spend a couple of hours going from store to store to check out toys we really coveted." He rubbed the side of his chin thoughtfully as he recalled the incident. "As a bonus, once we got there we actually ran into a couple of our friends from school."

Jack paused in his narrative.

Eager to get to the story's climax, though, Tony encouraged, "Keep talking, Grandpa, and say some more about you and Jake."

"Hold your horses," Jack ordered in response, leaning down to tickle Tony's tummy. "Remember that at my advanced age I have the right to hesitate or to digress!"

Laughing with delight, the child bounced against Maria.

Finally Jack continued the tale. "So, all would have probably been well, except that in a freak accident right after I left, my mama fell in our kitchen and broke her arm."

"My goodness, lo que en el mundo?" Maria murmured.

"Freak thing," Jethro supplied, recalling the story's details to reply to Maria's curiosity. "She was reaching in a top cabinet for a bowl and it slipped out of her grasp and fell. She tried to grab it and ending up losing her balance, falling right onto her arm."

Tony winced in sympathy, but stayed silent.

"So she quickly hurried out to the barn to alert my daddy when she figured out that the bone had snapped. Of course she was in a lot of pain. He left our farm in the hands of the chief farmhand and they took off in our automobile. Before they got to the road, though, Mama ordered Daddy to pick me up on their way. She knew the hospital trip would take a few hours and did not want me to come home and find no parent there to greet me. She didn't want me frightened."

Tony's eyes widened with comprehension. "Oh no for you and Jake!"

"Oh yes," Jack contradicted, emphatically nodding his head from side to side, "you can just about guess the rest of that. They got to Jake's house and with his folks, determined that Jake and I had pulled the wool over their eyes with our stunt. His parents told mine to go on and head to the hospital, that they would deal with finding us and would keep me at their house until my mom and dad returned."

"I bet Grandmama and Grandpapa had quite the ride. The hospital was at the end of the county, wasn't it, Dad?" Jethro leaned forward to consult his father.

"Correct, and remember that the roads were mostly dirt and just full of potholes in those days. Anyway, though, they did get there and sure enough, Mama's arm had broken. The doctor put it in a cast, and guess what my daddy paid?"

Frowning in concentration, Tony responded, "What did it cost, Grandpa?"

"They paid five dollars on the spot for the hospital's services, but the doctor received meat from the smokehouse on our farm for compensation."

Tony scrunched up his nose at the answer. "Did the doctor get mad at your parents for that?"

"Absolutely not," Jethro responded, "bartering held an integral position in the economy back then, trading one service for another."

No one spoke for several moments, evidently envisioning the scene at the hospital.

Finally, though, Tony sat up straight and demanded, "Grandpa, you still have part of the story to finish. Remember? Did you get into trouble that time?"

Jack raised his eyebrows and pointed towards his own chest. "Tough Jackson Gibbs getting into trouble? Is that what you thought would happen?"

"I thought you said," Tony contradicted, "that you…"

"Wait," Jethro ordered, interrupting the child. "Let Grandpa finish what he meant to say."

"Ok."

"After some searching, Jake's dad found us playing baseball with some buddies at a field right on the edge of the town. Poor Jake got spanked right there in front of the rest of us, one smack after another all the way into the car! Let me tell you, when I finally realized what had transpired, I knew my buttbeating was next, and that car ride to Jake's house, and then that car ride when my parents picked me up and took me home was pure torture for me. And my worst fears happened. My daddy did not even let me go to my room, but he had my britches yanked down and his hand connecting with my backside the second we entered our house. Let me tell you- he tore my butt up right inside the front door and in the living room."

Tony pursed his lips in sympathy. "Ouch."

"Ouch is right, and let me share something with you. That was not the last time my butt met my father's painful hand, but it was the last time I ever pulled the stunt of saying I was going one place and then secretly going another. Believe me, he drove that lesson home that afternoon."

"Do you see why now, Nieto, why Daddy and I got so upset with you?" Maria turned Tony to face her.

He slid off of her lap and crawled onto his grandfather's. Kissing the older man on the cheek, he climbed down before responding. "I'm not fussing now, Abuela. I'm surviving, just like Grandpa did."

The adults looked at one another and laughed.


End file.
